Something Else You Need to Know About Clovis

I've been noticing lately that a lot of the cars here with out of state plates--and there are so many from everywhere in the country these days in Clovis--tend to ignore the speed limit and tear along merrily on their way out to the Base.

Beware!! I, too, used to drive at whatever speed seemed reasonable, given the road and traffic conditions. DON'T DO IT! OBSERVE THE POSTED SPEED LIMITS VERY CAREFULLY! Sorry to shout, but I can't convince you of this fast enough and loud enough.

Look out for Sycamore Street. Driving along it you will pass a middle school that does not have a decreased speed limit, but all along that cursed street the speed is posted at 35 mph. Do it. Concealed somewhere along there--sometimes in the church parking lot--is the Clovis police guy my family now calls Sgt. Sycamore.

He is like one of those tricky spiders. He will hide, then he will dart out to get you. I was driving my sister to the emergency room when he got me. Did he worry about her health? Noooo. He was more concerned that I was a) speeding 7 mph over the limit and b) (gulp) unable to produce my current proof of insurance card, which I had apparently forgotten to put in the glovebox when I had received it.

So, I got not one, but TWO tickets. I hadn't gotten any kind of moving violation since I was 17, so this ruined a pretty long-standing record for me. I was able to talk to the nice judge and produce my danged insurance card the next day, so only had to pay for one ticket, but my record was ruined.

Every day on Norris Street I see you guys from Hawaii and Alaska and Connecticut just bowling along. What you probably don't realize is that the speed limit there changes quickly from 45 to 40 to 45 to 35 to 15-when-flashing, back to 35 and then to 45 again--all within a few blocks. And here's the trick: The speed limits are all different on the other side of the street, so cars on one side are, for example, required to travel at no more than 40, while their neighbors in the next lane going the other way must not exceed 35 in the 20 feet or so where that is the limit.

One of these days, the Clovis Police Chief is going to let Sgt. Sycamore come over to Norris, and he is going to FEAST on you guys.

Just don't say I didn't warn you. Oh, and anybody want to buy a house?

My Clovis: Flowers in May

The springtime flowers here are amazing. From our many years in New Hampshire, I'm used to a slow-starting spring, but here in Clovis we are right in the middle of the blooming season for roses.

Joe's Boot Shop 4th Annual Calf Roping

We saw our first calf roping down at the Curry County Fairgrounds on the same weekend as the Chuck Wagon Cook-Off, back on May 2-4. I kind of embarrassed myself by clapping wildly when the first fellow I saw finished tying up his calf. In the middle of my cheering I suddenly realized that no one else up in the stands was paying any attention at all. It was just another calf roping to them; leaving behind for the moment any sympathy I might be having for the calf's feelings, it was an incredible feat of amazing horse and cowboy athletism to me.



When the calf is released, the cowboy takes off after him, lassoes him and leaps off the right-hand side of his horse in an astounding airborne move. The well-trained roping horse holds the rope taut so the calf can’t get away while the cowboy leans over the 200-pound calf and grabs his legs and brings him to the ground. You can click on the above photo and look really carefully to see that the cowboy has a short rope in his teeth called a “piggin' string” that he uses to tie the calf’s feet together.

The whole thing is over in just a few seconds—the fastest times recorded have been in the 5.7 to 6.7 second range! This kind of roping is called “tie-down roping.” There is another kind of calf roping called “team roping” which I hope to see soon because, contrary to all possible predictions, I have become a rodeo fan.

Southwestern Foods on The Zees Go West; An Index

Spring cleaning! It's time to de-clutter and tidy up at The Zees Go West. The next blog post or two will consist of indexes to help you find your way around and to minimize some of the stuff on the side of the page.

Note: You can find more recipes of all kinds on my other blog, Recipes for Ben.

Best Green Chile Cheeseburger

Blue Corn Meal

Chipotle Recipes

Green Chile Recipes

Harvest Time in Clovis

Honey Spreads

Little Fires in Your Mouth

More Chile Sweets

Peanuts!

Pinto Beans

Posole

Red Chile

The Search for Local Honey

Which is Best--The Owl or the Buckhorn?

Wineries in New Mexico

Joe's Boot Shop; Part 2*

Joe's Boot Shop was one of the big sponsors of the "Duke of the Dutch Oven" Chuck Wagon Cook-Off last Saturday in Clovis. I saw the owner of the shop, Joe Rhodes, greeting everyone at the cowboy breakfast the following morning. He was so kind-hearted and concerned for everyone's welfare, I wanted to know a little bit more about him and his boot shop.

It seems that Joe started selling boots out of his West Texas garage back when he was a young man working in a feed yard. He and his wife, Darla, moved the business first to Muleshoe, TX, and then to Clovis, New Mexico in 2001. You can see the signs for Joe's long before you see signs for Clovis, and every one of them proclaims that the shop features "16,000 pairs of boots, 10,000 hats, 12,000 belts and thousands of western apparel and jewelry products" and they aren't exaggerating. In addition to the incredible array of boots (see a photo here) in every color and type of leather from ostrich to stingray, there are saddles and home furnishings, as well.

Joe gives a lot back to his community and supports and encourages the Western way of life. For that commitment his business was given a VIVA award by the Association of Commerce and Industry (VIVA stands for vision, investment, vitality and action) in 2006.

Joe's place is known in the community for the events that they put on during the year, including the recent Calf-Roping contest at the Curry County Fairgrounds, a big 4th of July celebration, and an annual Christmas Open House. When you walk through the door, you are greeted kind of like family, by the friendliest people you'll ever meet. It's a place that feels like home, and you'll want to go back again and again.

*See Joe's Boot Shop, An Introduction

The Duke of the Dutch Oven

We had our first cowboy cooking yesterday at the "Duke of the Dutch Oven"--the 1st annual Clovis Chuck Wagon Cook-Off at the Curry County Fairgrounds. It was the best!

Our clothes still smell like campfire smoke and we had our first chicken-fried steak. It was our first chicken-fried anything and absolutely delicious--so were the potatoes and cream gravy, served up hot out of big iron kettles. The yeast rolls were baked in a Dutch oven with live coals shoveled onto the lid. The pinto beans were the best I've ever had.

I think the peach cobbler might have had a little Jack Daniels in it. The wagon boss of the Cocklebur Camp out of Odessa, Texas said that it was a special "vanilla" that was only made in Tennessee. It was so delicious and had such a kick that when I ate mine a little too fast I had to rest in the shade for a while, listening to a young fiddler who was going from group to group.

We met the nicest people, enjoyed the sunniest day, heard the best bluegrass, and watched some mighty fine calf roping. We're heading back this morning for some more cowboy cooking.

When it Rains in New Mexico…

Near Truth or Consequences, the place (and the concept)

From Clovis Weather:
“The annual average precipitation at Clovis is 18.50 Inches. Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is August with an average rainfall of 3.43 Inches.”

Our last rain was on April 9th, when I woke up to thunder and lightning and the delicious smell of rain sweeping across the plains. Rain is a big event here, in a place where the sun shines an average of 335 days a year .

Here are some photos of rainfall and its effects that I’ve taken around the state. The first two were taken in Clovis during a September downpour, the third in Old Town Albuquerque in August, and the fourth shows what landed in a Las Cruces arroyo after a big storm--I wish we could read that sign.

The last three photos were taken when we were on our way to see some property that overlooked Elephant Butte Lake which was, ironically, very empty that year. We wisely chose not to go through the water over the road, luckily taking our cue from the fellow who was waiting it out on the other side. The last photo shows what was going on under all the water on an upper unpaved section of the same road. We decided against building a house up there.

My Clovis: Around the Neighborhoods

Stats Show Clovis Avoiding Housing Slump

Today's Clovis News Journal leads off with an article on Clovis housing with the headline "Stats show Clovis avoiding housing slump." The average Clovis home price in 2007 was $119,568 and the average price in the first quarter of 2008 was $130,746, a percentage change of +9.3.

This information comes from numbers released on Tuesday by the Realtors Association of New Mexico. Statewide, the average home price increased by 2% in the same time period, from $190,247 to $194,114.

You can read the complete article online.

Such a Lovely Spring

We've just had visitors from New Hampshire and had a chance to see our part of New Mexico through their eyes. They loved seeing leaves out on the trees, as theirs are still in bud. Here are some of the flowers that are blooming now around the house.

Tales of the Big Winds

...just snuck out to grab the newspaper...

I recently took part in a discussion about wind in New Mexico at the City-Data New Mexico Forum. It all started when someone in Las Cruces complained that they were in the middle of their annual two weeks of big wind. I couldn't resist answering:

Gosh, I just read about you poor guys with a couple of weeks of wind to endure and the tears are still streaming down my windburned cheeks. Tears of laughter. Tears because one of our 60 mph gusts whisked my cat up into the top of the neighbor's tree last week. Can't use a ladder, those all blew away. The current plan is to wait until the wind shifts and hope she lands back in one of our trees this time.

Like wind? Come on over to Little Texas, here on the High Plains. The winds start in November and end in...umm, not sure when they end. The early morning suburban streets are filled with groggy folk in odd pajama outfits who just snuck out to grab the newspaper, only to find that it has blown away down the middle of the road. It's the one time I'm assured of seeing who lives in the neighborhood and what they wear (or don't) at night.

I know people who keep their false teeth in their pockets most of the time, just in case. My glasses actually blew right off my face yesterday. I bent down to retrieve them and realized I was behind an SUV that was about to back out and over me. It was like a Laurel and Hardy movie. Luckily a really big gust lifted me six feet south, just in time to avoid being another parking lot fatality.

We all have something called "the Clovis do" on our heads because we know better than ever combing our hair until we get inside of wherever we are going. People with toupees make fast friends with the duct tape dealer here.

Only once did I make the mistake of sweeping up the sidewalk after mowing. Now I just wait a minute and it all goes over to the neighbor's place and on down the block.

Don't like your dog? Put him out back in the yard and he'll just blow away and find a new home. Don't like your husband? Wait for one of the really big gusts...

The following answer was posted by a concerned reader in Michigan:

Hello from Saginaw, Michigan:
I never laughed so hard as I did just now reading your description of what the wind does in your state. After a really hard day at school today (I am a substitute teacher working on her retirement this May), I thought I would never stop laughing at your descriptions. They are truly hilarious. Either someone like me who is used to some wind but not that kind of dust and the snow.....especially this year...... it is truly refreshing to hear a description about N. Mexico. Thank you for making me laugh. You have a great sense of humor. But I do cringe at the thought of a animal being tossed into a tree. I love animals so I don't like to hear things like that. I hope the cat survives, also.

Of course, I needed to set the Michigan lady's mind at ease:

I have to admit that I might have exaggerated just a tiny little bit when I was carrying on about the wind. My glasses DID blow right off my face, and the Clovis [hair]"do" IS a thing to behold. Cats blowing away? Welllll... you got me. All my cats are safe and sound and haven't been airborne for weeks. I just couldn't leave you worrying.

I am very excited to read that you are retiring from subsitute teaching. Talk about scary stories--I'll bet you have plenty. I retired from being a school librarian last year and plan to have a big anniversary celebration on May 17th commemorating the last time I was ever shut in a classroom with a mob of eighth graders. They were way scarier than any big wind.

Except for maybe tornadoes. We're apparently right in the middle of tornado season, and we live only 18 miles from the beginning of Tornado Alley. We have frequent tornado drills with the dogs and cats and they all know to head right for the closet, where I read cautionary tales like The Wizard of Oz to them. They love all the parts about Toto.

Classic Clovis Movie Theaters

State Theater (Still in use, first opened in 1936, Art Deco style)




Clovis is home to three wonderful old movie theaters, in addition to a more modern multiplex. Two of the old classics are still open, and the third is just waiting for someone to come along to renovate it.

When I was a child in San Francisco, I was allowed to walk to the Saturday matinee movie with a couple of friends. We went to the Surf Theater on 45th and Irving which was just a few blocks away from our home down on 48th Ave. between Judah and Irving. A quarter would take care of the movie ticket and some Junior Mints, with plenty of change left over. The matinee started out with previews of coming attractions, then cartoons, then a serial with a cliffhanger ending "to be continued" the next week, and then the featured attraction. Read Remembering the Coliseum by Pat French Swendsen for a delightful description of kids at a San Francisco matinee just a couple of decades before I was enthusiastically watching Francis the Talking Mule movies.

The most beautiful theater renovation I have seen as an adult was The Moore-Egyptian (now called The Moore Theater) in Seattle, which was showing foreign and revival movies back in the 1970s when I went there. It earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The Cinema Treasures website ("Discover. Preserve. Protect") is devoted to movie theater preservation and awareness and is “…reinventing historic preservation on the web.” It lists theaters by architect, chain, location, etc., and shows them as being open, closed, renovating, or demolished. 98 theaters are listed for New Mexico.

I recently photographed the old Clovis theater exteriors. The information in the captions comes from the Cinema Treasures website.


The Lyceum Theatre (Restored vaudeville theater, first opened in 1921, designed by Boller Bros. in the Mission style. Still in use)














Mesa Theater (closed)

My Clovis

Ah, YouTube. When I saw a negative video posted there called Boycott Clovis, New Mexico I worked hard making a slide show of the photos that I have been taking since moving here. It took me quite a while to do because I have never put together a video using jpeg files before.

I thought that it might be a good idea to present a more positive view and to show the beauty that is here for those who look for it. I posted my little effort on YouTube, but soon found that I am far too tenderhearted to deal with the kind of negative comments that started appearing. Folks had apparently decided that they didn't like Clovis, and they resented any attempt to see it in a positive way. So I'm taking down my YouTube posting, and doing my best to obliterate my account there, which was under the name of "cloviscowgirl" because they already have enough clairz-type names on file.

P.S.: Things are looking up! See the March 28 posts on this blog.

Music in Clovis

Clovis is observing Music in Our Schools Week. I'm not sure if it is part of a current national "week" or if Clovis just does their own. It's wonderful to see the recognition given to music teachers here--that doesn't always happen in other school districts. Last week the editor of the paper sent out the question "Which music teacher had the greatest influence on you and why/how?"--something like that. As the week goes on, there are guest columnists every day on page 2 of the newspaper providing an essay on the topic. There was a big double page spread in the paper the other day with the photos of every single music teacher and music assistant (Music assistants? What a luxury!) in the city, along with the name of the teacher/mentor who was their greatest influence. There is a big city-wide concert tomorrow tonight, with the elementary school select chorus, the high school band and orchestra, etc.

Clovis supports a Community Band, which plays for special events throughout the year.

The city hosts an annual Music Festival. This year's celebration takes place from September 4-6, 2008. You can check out the entertainment line up here. The Norman and Vi Petty Rock 'N' Roll Museum will have its grand opening during the Festival. The Norman Petty Studio on 7th Street is known as the home of the "Clovis Sound. " It is where Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison recorded their music.

Twice a week at the community center (okay, it's a Senior Center, but I just don't like to call it that) nearest us there either a jam session or a performance by local musicians--folks who just like to get together and play. We went to the Sweetheart Banquet there (9 couples married more than 50 years attended; the champs of the group were married 67 years!). There was wonderful toe-tapping musical entertainment provided by The Triple L Band from nearby Portales. They are my new favorite group.

We're planning to go to The Friends of Oasis Bluegrass Night on May 31st. It's a fund raiser for Oasis State Park featuring The Triple L Band. Can't wait to hear that great music out under the stars!

Christmas Lights in Clovis

I've been experimenting with nighttime photography without a tripod. The pictures of our house and neighborhood so far are very out of focus, so I'll have to try again. However, these shots taken down at Jimenez Custom Harvesting came out much better. Apparently, the guys down at Jimenez spend several days setting up this display and have done an incredible job. You can enjoy the animation if you drive by 1000 W. Brady Ave..


Merry Christmas!

Christmas Around New Mexico

For those of you, like Towanda in Kansas, who may be far away but still thinking about Christmas in New Mexico, here are some links to videos that will give you a tiny bit of the flavor of the season here.

Farolitos on Canyon Road in Santa Fe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Q-_KX3zh0 (has some odd audio)

Lights on the Plaza in Santa Fe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feDg05M_kjY

Las Posadas, Taos, NM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWFTEXJRZ8
Learn about some Northern New Mexico beliefs: The miracle at El Santuario de Chimayo y Santa Niño de Atocha, Santa Niño’s empty basket, and the Ceremonia de Compadrismo.

Christmas on the Pecos Parade, Carlsbad, NM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H64ejRGLgSo

Clayton, NM Christmas Light Parade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_UJhFSoO64

Living Christmas Tree, Las Cruces: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU5ob3jumsI

Christmas Lights of Clovis: http://www.cnjonline.com/video/index.php?bcpid=1155316076&bclid=1155290738&bctid=1351306729

The Mall in Clovis

I'm not much of a shopper. I know that's practically un-American to say, but there it is. When faced with absolutely having to buy something I'd much rather do it online that to have to trudge from store to store looking for a particular item. I do my best to support local industries when I can, but you will rarely, if ever, find me out shopping just for fun.

However, Harry O from the City-Data New Mexico Forum asked if I could get some exterior and interior photos of our local shopping mall, so I headed on over there this morning. It was fairly early for shoppers, I guess, because at 10:30 AM there were lots of parking places available. I wandered around the parking lot, getting shots of the bigger stores, then went inside. I was hoping to get some pictures of everything all decorated for Christmas, but was soon stopped by a nice mall employee who told me that for "legal reasons"

interior photos of the North Plains Mall are not allowed. I was pretty embarrassed and kind of worried that he would want to confiscate my beloved new camera (purchased online, of course), but instead we chatted a while about malls in general. I found out that GGP (General Growth Properties, Inc.), the company that owns the Clovis mall, owns over 200 regional malls in 44 states; and that Habitat for Humanity is their corporate charity of choice. We parted in good spirits with holiday smiles and I scampered out to the car, glad to have escaped a run-in with mall security.

Believe in Me

"Never let them tell you what you can't do"

If you want to see what the land around Clovis looks like, you can't get a better view than by watching the 2006 movie Believe in Me. It is based on the true story of Oklahoma high school basketball coach Jim Keith, who arrives at his new job in 1964 to find out that he will be coaching girls, not boys, at a time when girls' athletic teams were not at all respected or taken seriously. After a lot of hard work, team bonding, and some threatening local politics, the team goes on to the state championships. Though predictable (especially now that I've told you what happens) the story is a sweet one. It took me the better part of a box of Kleenex to get through it.

The producers chose the Clovis/Portales area for most of the filming because many areas had a mid-century look about them, and because there are a lot of vintage autos here. They were met with that famous Clovis hospitality--the locals brought them homemade suppers, donated vintage clothing and props, and lent them classic cars. The producers said that if they had a particular need, they had only to broadcast it on the local radio station, and they'd get donations by the next day. You can read more in the Production Notes.

The video is, of course, a big hit around Clovis, and the local video stores have a hard time keeping enough copies on their shelves. People here watch to see local street scenes, their cars, and themselves in the crowd scenes. Even though I'm fairly new to Clovis I recognized a few spots. The prairie scenes and the sunsets were absolutely stunning.

Visual Offering: Tribute to the Day of the Dead

Virgin Mary 22" x 28"

Artist David Martinez first started developing the idea for Visual Offering: A Tribute to the Day of the Dead two years ago. His show is currently at the Eula Mae Edwards Museum Gallery at the Clovis Community College, running from October 30 to December 14, 2007. You can visit at any time from 8AM to 5PM--just stop at the office across from the gallery or at the front desk and ask for the doors to be opened for you. I would recommend getting there soon, before all the pieces have sold. This is a great time to collect this artist's work, while it is still reasonably priced ($50-$1000).

Couple of Drinks 14' x 6'

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Photographs were taken and are posted with the artist's gracious permission.

Red Skull, Blue Skull, Green Skull 31" x 39" each



Saint Mary 12" x 24"


Waiting 48" x 24"

The Eula Mae Edwards Museum Gallery is located at the Clovis Community College, 417 Schepps Blvd., Clovis, NM. 575-769-2811. Hours are 8AM to 5PM weekdays; check at front desk to have gallery opened.

Peanuts!

It’s the bountiful season in the Clovis area. Hay is being baled, the pumpkin fields are full, cotton is being harvested, and fresh peanuts are being roasted out in Portales. Before moving here, I’d never seen peanut fields or peanut plants, for that matter. I was fascinated when one of the farmers brought in a peanut plant to show off at the Clovis Farmers Market. A passing old timer shuddered and said it reminded him too much of all the peanuts he had to harvest by hand as a kid.

Peanuts are grown in the warm climates of Asia, Africa, Australia, and North and South America. Depending on where they are grown, they may be called monkey nuts, ground nuts, goobers, or earth nuts, although they are legumes, rather than nuts. George Washington Carver created 325 products from peanuts, including familiar and not so familiar food products ranging from peanut butter to mock goose. His peanut product inventions included types of stock foods, cosmetics, cleaning products, beverages, medicines, paints, dyes, stains, paper, and linoleum.

You can grow your own peanuts. Buy raw (unroasted) peanuts in the shell. Carefully take out the peanuts, doing your best to keep the skin intact. Plant an inch and a half deep in well drained sandy soil, to which you have added fertilizer and a legume innoculant. The plants will grow to one or one and a half feet tall. Don’t fertilize later in the season, and don’t overwater. The flowers are borne on shoots called pegs which then grow down into the soil and form the peanuts. When the leaves start to yellow, stop watering. Harvest at first frost. Pull up the entire plant and hang it up until the shells are dry. A single plant will produce 40 or more pods. For more complete instructions, see Painless Botany Lesson: Growing Peanuts.

I'm sure that peanut production is affected by the fact that many public schools now ban peanut products, due to the increasing numbers of children with peanut allergies. According to a Feb. 2007 news release from New Mexico State University, while commercial peanut production across the U.S. fell 29% during 2006 and “the planted area – 1.24 million acres – is the lowest in the United States since 1915” the organic peanut market is growing. New Mexico, Texas, and Georgia are the only states so far that are growing organic peanuts on a commercial scale.

There are a couple of peanut producers in nearby Portales—Sunland Peanuts, Inc. and the Borden Peanut Company. The Sunland plant has a retail store that sells raw, roasted, shelled, unshelled, salted and unsalted peanuts by the bag. They also provide an amazing variety of natural and organic peanut butters and peanut spreads (“Peanut Better”) flavored with raspberry, chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, peanut praline, vanilla cranberry, and sweet molasses; as well as a line of savory spreads, including Thai ginger and red pepper, onion-parsley, spicy southwestern, hickory smoked, and rosemary garlic. We bought some of the Thai ginger peanut butter and plan to use it as a sauce with grilled marinated pork satay. See the Sunland recipe page for ideas for using these flavored spreads.

More links:

The Legacy of George Washington Carver: http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/gwc/bio.html

Peanut Allergy Facts: http://www.allergyescape.com/peanut-allergy.html

World Geography of the Peanut:
http://lanra.anthro.uga.edu/peanut/